U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly announced Indiana will receive a federal grant for approximately $10.9 million to help combat the opioid epidemic. The grant awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services was funded through the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which Donnelly pushed for and supported. The 21st Century Cures Act was signed into law in December 2016 and includes $1 billion over the next two years to help combat opioid abuse and heroin use. In late November, Donnelly and several colleagues called for the Senate to pass this necessary, emergency funding to address these public health crises before the end of the year.

Donnelly said, “After pushing for passage of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which is now law, I am pleased Indiana is receiving much-needed resources to help fund prevention efforts and treatment and recovery services. We are making progress to ensure our state and communities have the tools needed to confront this public health crisis, but we still have a lot of work to do. It is going to continue to take all of us working together to stem the tide of the opioid epidemic.”

Over the past three-plus years, as Indiana has been devastated by opioid abuse and heroin use, Donnelly has actively fought for both new efforts to help with prevention, treatment, and recovery and the funding necessary to support those programs. Several of Donnelly’s provisions were signed into law, and he successfully advocated and continues to advocate for funding that would expand prevention and treatment programs.